Proposal for Observing Yang-Lee Criticality in Rydberg Atomic Arrays

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Quantum Many-Body Systems
• Non-Hermitian Physics

Background:

• Yang-Lee edge singularities (YLES) mark critical points in non-Hermitian systems.
• Understanding YLES is crucial for nonunitary criticality and phase transitions.
• Experimental observation of YLES with physical imaginary fields has been challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a protocol for experimentally observing YLES criticality.
• To enable the physical probing of nonunitary phase transitions in nonequilibrium settings.
• To provide a platform for simulating non-Hermitian many-body dynamical phenomena.

Main Methods:

• Detecting kinked dynamical magnetization responses resulting from broken parity-time (PT) symmetry.
• Utilizing a nonunitary time evolution circuit simulated with matrix product states.
• Proposing an experimental setup using Floquet quenched Rydberg atomic arrays with laser-induced loss.

Main Results:

• The proposed protocol allows for the observation of YLES.
• Scaling analyses accurately recover critical exponents of nonunitary conformal field theories (CFTs).
• The method enables the physical probing of nonunitary phase transitions.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a feasible protocol for observing YLES criticality.
• This work paves the way for simulating non-Hermitian many-body dynamics experimentally.
• It offers a new avenue for exploring nonunitary criticality in physical systems.